


Running Trout

by somegunemojis



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fishing, Gen, Happy birthday old man (three days late but whatever), Life Lessons, Trans Hatake Kakashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:35:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26532208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somegunemojis/pseuds/somegunemojis
Summary: Good things don't last forever, but neither do the bad. The sooner we learn that life is victory and defeat and the moments of peace in between, the sooner we can learn to let go.
Relationships: Dai-nana-han | Team 7 & Hatake Kakashi, Hatake Kakashi & Uchiha Sasuke
Comments: 1
Kudos: 50





	Running Trout

**Author's Note:**

> been incapable of working on the kakazabu fic so here's this one
> 
> i'll get back to it eventually

Today is hardly different from any other Monday. He’s three hours late to training because he kneels in front of the memorial stone for so long that his legs go numb and the genin shriek at him for it (Sakura and Naruto shriek, Sasuke huffs and rolls his eyes like he’s better than that, but some day Kakashi will get him) but fall into line as soon as he ushers them to a creek. He thinks he says something about working on their reflexes by catching fish. 

The water is frigid, but he’s pulled off his sandals and rolled up his pant legs to demonstrate, and then once he's done he stays and he practices lazily with them. _Patience is a virtue_ , he says when Naruto whines that the fish weren’t coming close enough. _Only one in ten hunts are successful_ , he tells Sakura when she strikes and isn’t fast enough. Sasuke is a little harder to placate because that tone just pisses him off, so Kakashi just catches and releases fish and boredly explains light refraction and the concept of being more suited to an environment than your predator, occasionally prodding the moody boy to _pay attention_. 

Kind of a dumb, boring afternoon of training. But everyone catches at least two fish once he decides to turn it into a kind of competition, and the breeze is gentle enough that when they inevitably lunge too hard on the slippery river rock and get drenched that the kids don’t freeze when they climb back out of the water. Walking back into the village with his pants still rolled up and his sandals in hand, three soaked genin in tow, ends up being pretty funny as well-- some people might strain something while they get their fill of rubbernecking. 

Sakura is the first to peel off, clutching her three whole fish and waving with her free hand, murmuring something about getting home and helping her mom cook them. Naruto gives her a jubilant wave and Kakashi wiggles his fingers at her as she trots down a busy street toward home. Naruto perks up noticeably when their little rag-tag group spots Iruka, barely even gets out a goodbye to them before he’s sprinting over and jumping around excitedly, showing Iruka his kill like a little puppy. Kakashi can hardly stop himself from laughing at the sight. 

Sasuke turns the corner with him, and he says goodbye to an evening of silence without a word. It’s a common enough occurrence; Sasuke has nothing and no one to go home to, so sometimes he just follows him home. It's not comfortable, but Kakashi won't turn him away-- he knows what it's like to go home to a cold, empty flat every night as a kid. So instead of turning him away, he nudges him toward the market with an elbow and shakes his head in quiet amusement at the cranky look he gets in return. The kid looks like a miserable, wet cat, even with his catch clutched proudly to his chest. They pick up some veggies, and Kakashi carries the bag in his stiff right arm. Sasuke takes a position at his left side the whole way home, quiet until he opens up the door to his apartment and lets the kid in. 

Just as he realizes there’s a strange, syrupy-sweet scent lingering in his hallway, Sasuke asks incredulously, "What the fuck is up with that green ass cake on your table?" and Kakashi nearly drops the groceries with a groan. As it is, he pauses imperceptibly before closing the front door quietly, and leaning his forehead against the wood for a second. Just a second. 

Of course. Today is his birthday-- he's twenty seven now. 

He wanders into the kitchen and sets the bag down, coming over to stare at the cake over Sasuke’s skinny shoulder. It’s relatively small, maybe the same width as the length of his hand, but that’s still more cake than he would eat in a year. It’s so, so green. He can taste the food dye in the air. Sasuke finally turns and gives him a raised eyebrow, and Kakashi realizes he’d never answered the startled question. 

“Maa,” he starts with a long, irritated sigh. “This isn’t how I wanted to tell you.” Sasuke leans forward at that, trying to fight the look of concern off his face with a scowl, and before Kakashi can even think about the consequences of his actions, he continues: “Gai is probably congratulating me for getting pregnant. Sorry, I wanted to tell all of you together, but--” 

Sasuke cuts him off with a roll of his eyes and sets the trout on a cutting board. “No one is stupid enough to put a baby in you,” he snaps. Kakashi can’t help but laugh, a briefly smothered thing as he turns his back on the cake and starts pulling out the vegetables for Sasuke to cut while he cleans the fish. They bicker the rest of the night, and it isn’t quite peace, but. It’s good enough, for a birthday.


End file.
